I think that I
always assumed that my first year of teaching would be the most difficult. That belief was short-lived. It only took me a few weeks into my second year
to realize that theory was not always accurate.
Teaching is a year-by-year profession.
You can have an “easy” year followed by the most challenging year
imaginable. Of course there were many
challenges in my first year of teaching.
However, my second year proved to be, in many ways, more challenging than
my first. The realization that teaching
is a profession that restarts every August became apparent in the first few
weeks of getting to know my new class of students.
My second class of
first-graders was as different from my first as the seasons of summer and winter. I use the metaphor of these two seasons
because although they are opposite, they both have their advantages and
disadvantages. The heat of the summer
allows you to enjoy cookouts, vacations, tubing at the lake, trips to the pool,
cute and fun summer clothes, flip flops, etc…, while the winter provides you
with excuses to sit next to the fire with a hot cup of cocoa, read a book while
snuggling in your bed, snowball fights and snow days, Christmas and New Year’s
celebrations (and for me my birthday too!).
We all have things that we like about these two seasons; we might prefer
one to the other, but you have to admit that they both have perks. The best part about the differences in
seasons though is that they make you love and appreciate the other all the more.
My first class
of students was a Godsend for me as a beginning teacher. They were well-behaved and fun-loving. From the beginning I bonded with these
students; they welcomed me into their classroom mid-year, and loved on me from
the beginning. They were special in so
many ways, from their senses of humor to their love of singing and excitement
in learning. They made it easy to love
every aspect of being a teacher. I
remember waking up almost every day excited to go to work!
The excitement
and success from my first year of teaching provided me with expectations that
were not met for my second class. I had
a naïve mindset that this class was going to be just the same as the last. I expected this year to be even better
because let’s face it, I now have a year of experience under my belt! I was in for a rude awakening. This class was nothing like my first one, and
by the end of the first couple of weeks, the only thing I knew was that I
didn’t know much about being a teacher, and specifically nothing about being a
classroom manager.
Classroom
management was always one of my weakest areas when it came to teaching. But my first class spoiled me because they
did not require much management. They
were eager to please me and usually did not ever think about going against my
instructions or expectations. I kept the
same management plan that the previous teacher implemented and never had to
deviate. I can’t say the same about my
second class - my classroom management plan changed and evolved as often as the
months changed in a year.
It was evident from the first Friday of school that this class was going to be different. I can laugh about it now, but I will never forget the first time I had a student deliberately disobey something I had told them not to do. I’m usually slow to anger, but when one of my students decided to go to recess after I had told them they had to sit out, I was livid! How dare a student disobey and disrespect me like that? I couldn’t even look or talk to this student for 15 minutes because I was so angry. This student even had the nerve, after sitting several minutes in silence to ask me, “Can I go out now?” I had to explain that because she chose to disobey me that she had to sit out for all of recess. I don’t think she even understood what she did to disobey me in the first place. I had to go talk to my principal just to calm down. Thankfully he is patient and understanding, and talked me through it. He helped me see it from a rational perspective and helped me to know how to handle it.
It is silly to
me now, especially in light of many other occurrences that happened throughout
this year, how angry I got at this first incident. However, I was just as inexperienced about
how to deal with many of my students as they were about many aspects of
life. One thing is for certain, we all
learned more than we ever could have imagined; me being the one that grew the
most. For many of my students, I had to
teach them how to do school or at least how we do school at Bingham. I had to set expectations and make them
follow those expectations. All of them
learned from multiple situations that we all make choices and our choices come
with consequences. Many of my students
had to learn the hard way that listening to their friends is not always the
best decision. Students had to learn
that sometimes we have to do things we don’t want to do; it’s a part of
life. They had to learn that even if you
might not like someone and want to be their best friend, you still have to
respect them. These are all principles
and aspects that I had to teach this class of students.
However, they
taught me much more. They taught me how
important it is to be consistent. If I
said something was going to happen if they did this or that, I had to follow
through, every time. They taught me that
I need to be sure I think through the things I say to them. I learned how vital clear procedures and directions
were, how to show tough love at the right moments, and have compassion and
mercy in others. They taught me the
realization that every day is a new day, and the importance of not letting what
happened yesterday affect today’s happenings.
Most importantly, they allowed me to understand more fully what God has
to go through whenever He deals with me: how forgiving, how understanding, and
how patient He has to be. In short, what
this year’s group of students taught me was how merciful and beautiful God’s
love is for His children.
I have enough
stories from this year’s group of students to write a book. I could probably start multiple children’s
series like Junie B. Jones starring
many of my students. I most definitely
had some characters in my class that kept me on my toes! From attempted runaway students, to cheeky
boys going into the girls’ bathroom, fighting over soccer games, throwing huge rocks
on the playground, picking fights with 8th graders, constantly
shouting at classmates - you name it, I’ve had it. Stories about my first graders were often the
topic of conversation at dinner with my colleagues. If they had a story, I could almost always
top it!
As I reflect
back on this year, many memories come to mind.
I laugh at the things that happened and think fondly of the students
that starred in the many scenes. There
was never a dull moment in my classroom; no two days were alike. Although it was difficult at times, I
wouldn’t trade it for anything! I can’t
wait to see what this group of students will turn out to be. I know that all of the characteristics and
qualities that cause them to be so full of life and mischievous will only work
together to one day make them great at whatever God has planned for their
lives.
Summer is my favorite
season but December, the first month of winter, is my favorite month of the
year. They can’t be more different from
one another, but they both contain aspects that I love. The same can be said about my two first
classes. My first class is like my
summer, but my second is like the month of December. Having one class made me love and appreciate
the other class all the more.
